Current UK Barn Owl population

2018

Early indications are that 2018 will be another mixed year for Barn Owls in the UK – Snow and low temperatures in March are likely to result in the absence of birds at some sites and birds breeding late in others. However, the number of young in nests may well turn out to be above average given that Tawny Owls appear to be having a very productive year. Barn Owls in West Cornwall are breeding about three weeks late but on Jersey the earliest broods fledged by mid June.

How many Barn Owls are there in the UK?

Nobody knows for sure. The only reliable UK Barn Owl survey estimated the population at almost 4,000 pairs (+/- 30%) in 1995-1997 (Toms et al. 2000).

From 1997 to 2009 the number of Barn Owl sightings recorded by the BTO Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) increased dramatically – strongly suggesting a population increase. Since 2009 BBS has recorded a 63% decline in Barn Owl sightings. However, BBS is only a daytime survey. Its reliability as an index of Barn Owl abundance is debatable, particularly as an increase in Barn Owl sightings by day is usually a sign that the birds are struggling to find enough food. An entirely separate project, the Barn Owl Monitoring Program, recorded a 50% drop in the number of nests in the period 2000 to 2009 but this figure is also thought to be unrepresentative. In summary, nobody knows how many Barn Owls there are in the UK. Population estimates produced since 2000 are not reliable.

The most up-to-date figures are in our report: State of the UK Barn Owl population 2017 based on results provided by 38 independent monitoring groups including new data contributors in Cheshire and Glamorgan.

Overall 2017 was a good year for Barn Owls but with some notable exceptions. Across most of England and into mid Wales Barn Owls had a generally good to very good year. However, Barn Owls had a relatively poor year in West Galloway, West Cornwall, and the Isle of Wight. Those on Jersey experienced a very poor year and in Northern Ireland Barn Owls are still very scarce.

The data received from 32 monitoring schemes checking 6,058 nest sites shows that the number of nesting pairs in the UK in 2016 was 6% below the all-years average and the average number of young in the nest was 7% below. Barn Owls had a poor to very poor year in South West and South England, Jersey, North Norfolk, parts of Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire, parts of Powys in Wales and West Galloway in Scotland. Conversely, Barn Owls in the west of England (from Cheshire down to Buckinghamshire), and in North Northumberland, Suffolk, and the Isle of Wight had a quite good to good year.

2015 Barn Owl numbers

The checking of 5,963 potential nest sites by 32 independent groups across the UK revealed that the number of nesting pairs was 26% below average and the average number of young in nests was 18% below average. However, the number of nests was slightly to moderately above average in Manchester, Cheshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, and Suffolk. The only areas where mean brood size was above normal were West Cornwall and Somerset. The generally poor results were attributed largely to a lack of food rather than the weather.

2014 Barn Owl numbers

2014 was an exceptionally good year for Barn Owls almost everywhere in the UK. The checking of 6,558 potential nest sites by 25 independent groups across the UK revealed that the number of nesting pairs was 16% above average and average number of young in nests was 35% higher than the all-years average. See State of the UK Barn Owl population 2014.

2013 Barn Owl numbers

2013 was an extremely poor year for Barn Owls – described as ‘the worst year since records began‘. This prompted the Barn Owl Trust to collate results from 26 independent Barn Owl monitoring groups around the UK and produce State of the UK Barn Owl Population 2013.

All groups reported a drop in the number of breeding pairs. The drop in numbers varied from a 24% decline to 100%. The overall drop in nesting occupancy was 70%.